Country Roads, Take Me Home
by Athena's Marauder
Summary: When the outbreak hits, Georgie Campbell is just trying to get back to her father. Along the way, she finds a new family, one she would die for. But she still needs to find her way home.
1. Chapter 1

"Stay here," Rick had told her when they had left the night before. "Glenn, Daryl, and Carol are all gone. Someone needs to be in charge."

Georgie wanted to argue that it was him who should be in charge, not her, but she had learned in the past few years with Rick that arguing didn't get her anywhere. She wished that at least Carl would have stayed back with her, that she knew he was safe too, but even he had managed to convince Rick to let him go on their mission to get Maggie to the doctor at the Hilltop.

Even if she was only a toddler, Judith could feel the tension going through Alexandria right now, almost like a band about to break. At least that's what Georgie thought, since the little girl would not stop crying no matter how much Georgie rocked her or read to her. Beth used to say Judith could sense people's needs. Maybe she could sense that Georgie needed to be by Maggie's side. If she didn't have to take care of Judith and the remainder of Alexandria, Georgie would be crying too.

 _Several news channels blared all at once, causing a wall of noise and panic rather than informing anyone. Georgie wanted to shut her door and ignore the commotion in the hallways but her roommate was running in and out of the dorm, trying to gather all of her things in a rush, much like everyone else was._

 _Her phone buzzed on her table as her roommate gave her a final, hurried good bye. The dorms were emptying out quick. Georgie checked the caller ID before answering even though only one person ever called her instead of just texting._

" _Hey, Daddy," She said._

" _Thank Christ, they're saying half the cell towers are down, I didn't know if I'd get you, sweetheart," Her father said on the other end. His deep baritone, normally steady and with an edge of his ever present cocky attitude was almost quaking. Georgie had only heard it like that once before. It worried her more than the news reports. "Where are you at? Are you safe?"_

" _I'm still at the dorms, I'm fine," Georgie said. "They canceled classes and everyone is heading home."_

" _They're goddamn right to," Her father said. "Now listen, Lulu, just get some of your clothes together. I got you a plane ticket back here."_

" _What?"_

" _Have you seen the shit that's going on? You need to come back home," Her father said. "It leaves in two hours. Everyone is trying to haul ass somewhere. It's the only flight I could get you on."_

" _There's no way I can get to the airport, Daddy," Georgie said. "It's chaotic out there. A lot of people who live out of state are going to the Red Cross centers. They say the army has it covered, it won't be like this for long."_

" _You'll get there," He said. "You gotta get home where you're safe, with me. They don't know shit about how to handle something like this."_

" _And you do?"_

" _Georgia Lucille, are you talking back to me?"_

 _Georgie rolled her eyes. Not that she thought that her father would orchestrate this whole ordeal purely to get her back home, but he also had made a huge deal of her going away to college. He had really only let her because she had chosen the college her mother had gone to. When it came to her mother, her father didn't argue. If she was being honest, she missed her father, but he had always been overprotective. Now, she worried, he had a right to be._

" _I'm sorry," Georgie said. "I'll find a way there."_

" _That's my girl," He said. "It leaves at seven from Hartsfield. Be on it. I love-,"_

 _The line died, a dial tone replacing her father's voice. Ever the procrastinator, Georgie had even put off being scared, but that itself seemed like a bad omen._

" _You're still here?" Georgie jumped at the sound. She hadn't noticed that nearly everyone in the hall had evacuated during the duration of her call. There was a girl in the doorway, a pretty junior with short brown hair who Georgie recognized as the RA but had never really spoken to outside of getting her room assignment._

" _My dad just told me to head out," Georgie said as she got up to gather a bag. "He's a worrier."_

" _I got a daddy like that too," The RA said. "I'm going home now, I was just making sure everyone was out of here first. You got a ride home?"_

" _I've got to get the airport," Georgie explained. "I'm going back to Virginia."_

 _The RA pursed her lips for a moment. "Which airport?"_

" _Hartsfield."_

" _I can take you," The RA said._

" _You don't have to do that. I can find a way there."_

" _You ain't gonna find a taxi in this mess," She said. "It's on my way anyways, my family's farm is off the highway that direction."_

" _If you're sure-,"_

" _I'm very sure," The RA said, with a strong nod._

 _Georgie finished shoving a few things in her backpack and followed the RA out of her dorm room towards the stairs. As they passed the elevators, she heard the soft buzz of the emergency alarm from inside. But more concerning was the quiet groans, like something was trapped inside that couldn't even yell for help. "You're Georgia Campbell, right?" The RA asked, pulled her attention away from the elevators._

" _Georgie, yeah," Georgie corrected as they hurried down the stairs. It seemed like such a normal conversation to be having when she could hear the commotion just outside the windows._

" _Georgie, right," The RA said. She jumped the last two steps, opening the door to the afternoon light outside. "I'm right here."_

 _The RA guided her to an old pickup on the sidewalk. People shoved Georgie as they tried to run one way or another. She climbed into the passenger seat, trying to distract herself from the sirens she heard in the distance._

" _This is insane," The RA noted, almost under her breath as she started the car. "All this for some disease?"_

" _They're saying the sick people are attacking doctors and stuff," Georgie said. "I saw a video online, this guy bit an EMT who was trying to help him."_

" _I'm sure it's just all being blown out of proportion, like the swine flu or whatever," The RA shook her head, flipping on the truck's ancient radio._

" _Reports coming in from all over the country about infected patients-,"_

 _Georgie snapped the radio off again. "If you don't mind, I'd rather not hear about it."_

" _Me neither," The RA said._

 _They drove in silence, watching the chaos from the safety inside the truck. The airport was only a few miles from the dorms, but when they pulled into the drop off, it was packed with people, all trying to force themselves into the terminal._

" _Looks like everyone had the same idea," The RA said. "I don't know if you'll be able to get in."_

" _I promised my dad," Georgie said, hoisting her backpack onto her shoulder. "Thanks for the ride, though."_

 _The RA looked like she wanted to say something, but Georgie got out of the truck. She stood at the back of the crowd, spotting a man in a TSA uniform. "Excuse me," She said, grabbing his attention. He looked bored, as if this were any other day at his job. "I'm supposed to be on a flight-,"_

" _We're only taking passengers that're already in the terminal," The agent said. "Ain't taking the chance in case someone is contaminated."_

" _What?" Georgie said, her stomach sinking. "But I have to get-,"_

" _Everyone's gotta get somewhere, darlin'," The agent said._

 _Georgie was about to protest, but a piercing scream shut down any argument she may have had. "What the hell?" She said, stepping back from the crowd to look out onto the drop off. She felt stiff as she watched a woman, her neck bent at an unnatural angle, rip the ear off of the man in front of her with her teeth._

" _Christ," The agent said, clearly no longer bored._

 _A car sped through the glass separating the mob from the terminal, shattering it with a crash, sending shards everywhere. People bloodied their hands trying to get inside, away from the deranged woman. Georgie heard her name, finally restarting her frozen body, finding the RA still in the cab of her truck, waving Georgie back to her frantically._

 _Georgie had no thoughts in her head other than to run, the image of the flesh hanging from the woman's teeth still fresh in her head. She hopped back into the truck as the RA peeled out of the drop off and back onto the highway._

" _Did you see that?" The RA asked. "That woman, she just… She…"_

 _Georgie nodded, her chest heaving. "Thank you, for waiting for me."_

" _Of course," The RA nodded. "I wasn't about to let you go into that. My daddy won't mind me bringing you home, we can find another way to get you back to Virginia."_

 _Georgie nodded, staring straight out the windshield. The girls sat in traffic, the sound of horns and drivers yelling obscenities poking through the silence. Finally, Georgie said, "I know this is an awkward question seeing as you probably just saved my life, but I honestly don't know your name."_

 _The RA laughed, the sound out of place in the situation they were in. "I'm Maggie."_

Voices outside brought Georgie's attention back to the present. She stepped outside onto the porch, Judith on her hip. The Virginia sun nearly blinded her, but she could see everyone gathering by the opening gates. They were back.


	2. Chapter 2

Her first instinct was to run to the gate, but Georgie wasn't about to risk Judith's life in case it wasn't just their people who had come back. The last time, it had been the man from Hilltop, Jesus. He had turned out to be decent, but he had told them about the other group, the ones who called themselves Saviors but spent most of their time killing anyone who defied them.

From her spot on the porch, Georgie took a head count. Rick had taken Maggie with Sasha, Eugene, Carl, Abe, and Aaron, but had come back with Michonne and Rosita in tow. And with no Abe or Sasha.

Georgie stepped off the porch as the Grimes family walked towards their house. Carl was the first one to reach her, pulling her into a hug that felt like it was more for him than it was for her.

 _The prison walls were a dull gray that left Georgie with a mind numbing headache. While before all this, she had been very much a homebody who preferred to stay inside with a good book, now, she spent more time outside than she ever had in her life. She smuggled books from the library out into the sunshine, where she could watch as everyone went about their jobs. The people they had brought in from Woodbury were a welcome addition. The prison felt less like a temporary camp and more like a place worth staying at for the long haul. After so long with just their small group, she liked to people watch as she studied, waiting for Hershel to finish his farming lesson with Rick so he could continue his medical lessons with Georgie._

 _Halfway through a particularly boring paragraph about blood thinners, the bench across from Georgie creaked. She smiled up from her book at Carl, his face shadowed under the brim of the oversized hat he wore._

 _"How's the veggie planting going, bud?" Georgie asked, shutting her book._

 _"Good, I guess," Carl shrugged._

 _"Pretty soon, we'll have tomatoes growing out of our asses, you and Pops have the green thumb," Georgie said._

 _"You hate tomatoes," Carl said with a soft smile._

 _"I like spaghetti," Georgie said. "And you can't have spaghetti without tomatoes."_

 _Carl looked out onto the field, where his father was still pulling weeds from their steadily growing garden. His face looked harrowed, like someone much older than twelve years. When Hershel had asked Georgie to assist him in performing surgery on a young boy who had been shot to the stomach despite Georgie only having a month of pre med college education under her belt, she had nearly broken down. After Carl turned out fine, Georgie felt a kinship with her former patient._

 _"Penny for your thoughts?" Georgie asked. Carl fidgeted with the brim of his hat, shielding his face from Georgie as if he didn't want her to look at him._

 _"This is the kind of thing my mom would've wanted," Carl said. "The families here, the gardens. Carol's even reading to the kids in the library."_

 _"That's a good thing," Georgie said. "You and Judith get to have this."_

 _Carl shrugged, looking down at the table, picking at the grains in the weathered wood. Georgie stared at the tassels of the hat for a long moment._

 _"I ever tell you about my dad?" Georgie asked._

 _"Not that much," Carl said, finally looking up._

 _"Well, my dad was a gym teacher," Georgie said. "My mom had been a big shot in some minor women's boxing league, so my dad thought I was going to be a star athlete. Unfortunately for him, the only thing I could hit was him in the nads with a wiffle ball bat." Georgie was proud of herself for pulling a laugh out of Carl. "He tried to get me to be tough. He sucked at that too, 'cause he was a big softy, especially if I got all teary eyed. My mom died when I was real little so I was basically all he had. But he still tried. Any time I had a bully or a guy broke my heart, he'd say to me, 'Now, Lulu,'-"_

 _"Lulu?" Carl chuckled. Georgie smirked at him._

 _"Yes, Lulu. It's what he calls me. Tell anyone else that, though, and you'll find yourself on the business end of my knife," Georgie said. "He'd say, 'Now Lulu, put on your big girl panties and sock them in the teeth.' 'Course, I never did and he let me get away with it because I was his little girl and he'd just take care of it for me. The bravest thing I did was go away to college and even then, I spent the whole first week calling him three times a day."_

 _"I've seen you take out walkers by yourself," Carl said. "You're plenty brave."_

 _"I am now," Georgie said. "But the last my dad saw me, I was still crying over a bad grade on a paper. He didn't get to see me now. I'm alive now because my dad taught me to throw a punch and shoot a gun, even when I didn't want to. He wanted me to be tough and now I am and he'll never know."_

 _"It sounds like he'd be proud of you," Carl said._

 _"I know for a fact that your mom was proud of you," Georgie said. "Plus, I know she loved tomatoes."_

Judith reached around Carl's neck, trying to get her brother to hold her as Carl held fast to Georgie. Georgie patted the boy's hair with her free hand, looking over his shoulder at the solemn faces of Rick and Michonne as they approached.

"What happened? Why aren't you at Hilltop?" Georgie asked as Carl finally pulled back. "Is Maggie okay?"

"Maggie's okay," Rick said, his voice sounding like his throat had been shredded to pieces. "She's going to be okay."

"Then what's wrong?" Georgie asked. "Where is everyone?"

Rick looked back to Michonne who had her shaking hand covering her mouth. Georgie had never seen Michonne look helpless, but that was the only way she could describe the desperate, wild look in the woman's eyes.

Rick looked down, his fists clenched tightly to his sides as if he were afraid they might haul off and punch someone on their own accord.

"Daryl got taken by the Saviors. Abe and… Abe and Glenn," Rick stumbled. "They're dead."


	3. Chapter 3

The walls of Alexandria had never seemed small before. The walls meant safety, and safety meant opportunity. Opportunity to grow and to live. Now, they felt small and inconsequential. The promise of protection seemed to have collapsed in on itself as Georgie stared blankly at Rick's forlorn expression.

"They're…," Georgie swallowed hard. "What happened?"

"We got surrounded by Savoirs," Michonne explained, holding her arms around herself. "Their leader… he lined us all up. He killed Abe first, smashed his head in with a damn bat… then Glenn-,"

" _More ibuprofen and NyQuil?" Georgie asked from behind the register of the pharmacy. They had ventured out further than they normally did, but it looked like the place had already been picked clean._

" _Anyone gets a little head cold, we're more than ready," Glenn said, tossing a few boxes into his bag._

" _Rick finally lets me out of the prison and we don't find squat," Georgie said. The run had proven to be less than ideal, with little to no supplies. Not wanting to go back to the prison empty handed, Georgie threw candy bars from by the registers into her backpack. At least it was something._

" _He's just worried about you and Carl," Glenn said. "Grab me a Three Musketeers while you're over there," Glenn said. He hopped over the pharmacy counter, picking through for anything of use._

" _Yes, please lump me in with the twelve year old boy, it's really what my self esteem needs," Georgie said with a shrug as she emptied a box of stale nuget bars into her bag._

" _Carl's a way better shot than you, so maybe consider yourself lucky."_

" _Bite me," Georgie laughed, throwing a Reese's Cup at Glenn's head. Fortunately for her ego, it smacked him in the eye._

" _Owh, just being honest," Glenn shrugged. "Oh, score." Georgie looked over, smirking at Glenn's find._

" _Is it 2002?" Georgie asked, taking the portable CD player from him, looking it over. She popped open the top. "'Fleetwood Mac's Greatest Hits'. Well, at least there's that. We could all use more Stevie Nicks."_

 _Glenn grabbed it back, putting it back into his bag. "Whatever. Beth'll like it."_

" _She'll love it," Georgie agreed. She hopped over the counter to join him. She pulled open a few of the drawers, finding mostly pens and prescriptions that would never get filled. The last drawer she pulled open though only held personal items, she assumed of the person who had owned the pharmacy. A set of spare car keys, a swiss army knife with an inscription, a photo of his family. Georgie pocketed the knife and tried to ignore the family picture. She picked through the rest of the pharmacist's items with a pit in her stomach._

" _Hey," Glenn said, grabbing the thick, blue cardboard folder from Georgie. "I used to have one of these. I almost had all fifty states."_

 _He opened it, revealing a map of the United States, all with circular holes in them. Some slots were empty, but most were filled with quarters. Glenn traced his finger along the empty hole that stood for Michigan._

" _You miss it?" Georgie asked._

" _You ever been to Michigan? There's not much to miss."_

" _Virginia is the same," Georgie said. She poked Virginia's empty slot, but Glenn knew that the coin's absence wasn't what she meant._

" _Guess everyone's home is boring when it's theirs," Glenn said._

" _What were you even doing in Georgia?" Georgie asked. "I mean I know, delivering pizzas, but I'm almost positive there's a Domino's in Michigan."_

" _Everyone I knew from high school stayed in the same town we grew up and I didn't want to," Glenn said. "So I picked somewhere where I wouldn't know anyone. I was about a semester short of graduating, and decided I had no idea what I wanted to do so I dropped out and avoided all my mom's calls so she wouldn't murder me when she found out."_

" _Did she ever find out?"_

" _Oh yeah, I think she actually lost her voice yelling at me," Glenn laughed. "What about you? Did you just come to Georgia for the irony?"_

" _Self fulfilling prophecy, actually," Georgie said. "My mom was from Atlanta, that's why I'm named Georgia. Of course, I didn't realize what a mistake I'd made until I heard the same 'Georgia in Georgia' joke twenty different times."_

 _Glenn laughed slightly. "You didn't know Maggie when you came back to the farm with her, did you?"_

" _Not really," Georgie said. "She was my resident advisor at GSU. I had barely talked to her. She was just making sure everyone got out safe when she ran into me."_

" _Lori hit me with her car. She wasn't going fast enough to actually hurt me or anything, but she felt so bad she took me back to her camp. Before that, I was just running around by myself for a week or so. Probably would've died a month into this whole thing if she hadn't brought me in." Glenn said. "Everyone else started this thing with someone they knew. You and me were strangers to everyone."_

" _I guess we're lucky their southern hospitality won out," Georgie said with a slight smirk. Glenn ruffled her hair making her elbow him playfully. She knew he had two younger sisters, one about her age, who he wouldn't say much about, but she figured she must remind him of them._

" _I guess we can't really say Georgia's all that boring now."_

Rick placed his hand on Michonne's shoulder, shaking his head. "This guy...this Negan. He's worse than we thought. More dangerous."

"I thought he just wanted our stuff?" Georgie asked. "Why would he-,"

"We owe him half of all of what's ours," Rick said. "I don't know if he just means supplies or people or what, but he's already taken Daryl. When he comes, you and Judith, you hide."

"What do you mean, we hide?" Georgie asked. "I know I'm not as good of a fighter as Daryl but you say it all the time, people are our best resource. I'm better than nothing at least."

"We don't know what he's taking these people for, Georgie," Michonne said. "He already knows about everyone we had with us last night, about Carl. We can at least keep you safe."


	4. Chapter 4

The best part of Georgie's mornings in Alexandria was the split second when she first woke up in a real bed in a real house and could almost imagine she was back at home, before all of this had begun. Today, her mind didn't even allow her that small pleasure. She had even dreamt about the losses they had suffered. She hadn't been there to watch her friends die those few nights ago, but it still haunted her as if she had been.

She pulled herself from the bed, sweeping her messy, dark hair into a ponytail before going to Judith's room to check on the baby. Her heart ached as she looked at the empty space on the floor of the little girl's room where Daryl normally slept. Even after Deanna had offered him his own place, he stayed at the Grimes' house, keeping his spot on Judith's floor. Georgie and Carol tried to convince him to at least put a bed in there, but he had refused, preferring his old sleeping bag. Judith appeared to be fine, albeit, she slept fitfully. Maybe she had noticed that her faithful guardian was missing.

" _You need to drink something," Georgie said, shoving the water bottle towards Daryl. He turned his head away, hoisting Judith higher up on his back as they walked along the mostly empty road. It was almost comical, seeing Daryl with his crossbow out in front and a baby carrier on his back. Or it would have been if they hadn't just lost a quarter of their small group._

" _Nah," He said. "Save it for you and the kid."_

" _You're not going to be too good of a shot if you're delirious from dehydration," Georgie insisted._

" _Will it get you off my damn back?" Daryl asked. Georgie nodded, handing him the water bottle. He took an indignant swig and handed it back. "Happy now?"_

" _Thrilled."_

" _Ain't got any idea where we're going," Daryl grumbled._

" _How's that any different than normal?" Georgie asked. "We know that car went this way so this is the way we're going."_

" _They got a hell of a head start," Daryl said._

" _They have to stop somewhere, right?"_

 _Daryl grunted his inaudible answer, making Georgie roll her eyes. While he had more than ten years on her, Daryl often reminded Georgie of small children she used to babysit; indignant and sullen when something went wrong. Being with the group had pulled him out of his shell, forcing him to realize he had people who cared about him, but he soon forgot that when they were separated. Georgie knew that he thought that they and Beth were the last of their group, even after the girls had tried to tell him otherwise. Now that they had to chase down the people who had taken Beth from them, Georgie could almost feel him retreating back into himself._

 _Georgie wanted to say something to him, maybe joke to lighten the mood, but even before she could formulate a pun, he shoved his arm out, nearly knocking the wind of of her. He shoved her towards one of the cars abandoned by the road, forcing her to kneel next to him while he aimed his crossbow into the woods from the top of the trunk._

" _What-," Georgie started but Daryl shushed her._

" _Someone's out there," Daryl said, his voice so quiet she could barely hear him._

" _Walkers?" Daryl shook his head._

 _After a beat or two of silence, Georgie started to wonder if maybe she had been too late with the water bottle and that Daryl had already gotten incoherent from running on fumes._

 _Then, the rustle of trees reinforced his concern. The woods parted, seven men with their guns trained on Daryl's head stepped out. They looked like a motorcycle gang without the motorcycles, all in black leather and boots._

 _The man at the front, a tall, graying man, put his gun down, but none of his group followed his lead. "Come on out, we got nothing against a family just trying to make their way," The man said. Daryl stayed crouched so Georgie followed suit. He may have acted like a child at times, but he had still saved her life on multiple occasions and she knew when to listen to him._

" _Well, if you got something to hide, stay on back there," The man said. "But just know, we don't take kindly to that kinda cowardly ass behavior. So it's in your best interest to come out."_

 _Daryl kept his crossbow steady, but Georgie could see a plan forming behind his tired eyes. "Stay behind me," He said to her. She nodded, following his lead as he slowly got up from behind the car. She hid herself behind Daryl just like he asked, Judith cooing down at her from her spot on Daryl's back._

" _Claim!" One of the men said, even his smirk greasy. Georgie could feel eyes on her and she had a feeling she wouldn't like what 'claim' meant."Claim on the bitch." She was right._

" _I'm claiming the vest," Another said. "I like them wings."_

" _Now, now, boys," The leader said. "We don't know what these nice people are about. You can tell a lot about a man by the weapon he keeps, and I like what his bow says. What's your name, Bow Man?"_

" _Daryl," He answered shortly._

" _Daryl. And is this your wife, Daryl?" The leader asked, nodding to Georgie. Daryl shook his head._

" _Claim!" The greasy man repeated. "If she ain't yours-"_

" _She's my sister," Daryl lied quickly, shifting his crossbow to the greasy man._

" _Easy now," The leader said, holding his hands up. "What about the baby?"_

" _She's mine," Georgie said, stepping out slightly from behind Daryl, only to have him shove her back roughly._

" _Nice guy, taking care of your sister and her kid," The leader said with an almost mocking smile, though Georgie wasn't sure what part of that he thought was worth laughing at. He waved his group down, making them lower their weapons. "What are you folks doing out here? Don't got a camp?"_

" _We did," Daryl said, finally lowering his own, but Georgie noticed he kept one hand on the knife at his side._

" _But you don't now?" The leader said. He didn't wait for an answer. "We aren't used to having pretty young ladies around, but we can make an exception. Mighty dangerous being out here just the two of ya, especially with a lil one."_

" _We're fine," Daryl said surely._

" _Daryl," Georgie said. He looked over his shoulder at her. "He's right."_

" _No," Daryl said firmly._

" _Yes," Georgie said, just as set in her decision, her voice low so the group couldn't hear."Just for now, they might be the lesser of two evils."_

" _Evil's still evil," Daryl said._

" _And dead is still dead," Georgie said. "Which is what we'll be if we stay out here alone."_

Judith's cry brought Georgie out of her head. She often wondered if she had been right. They may have survived the Claimers, but not before Rick had to tear Joe's throat out with his teeth. Daryl had never been one to say 'I told you so', so she would never know what he thought of it either. All she knew is that they had made it to Alexandria despite that, to what they thought would be a safe life, only for Daryl to be captured by some deranged man with a God complex.

"I got her," Michonne said, startling Georgie. "You go downstairs, I made breakfast."

"Powdered eggs again?" Georgie joked. Michonne smiled at her softly.

"It's something, at least," Michonne said. "Better get something before Carl wakes up and eats it all."

Georgie walked down the stairs, into the kitchen. She was surprised to see Rick at the kitchen counter. The last two mornings, he had been out at the guard towers, pulling all night shifts despite Michonne begging him to stay in the house and let the others take over for a while.

"Morning, Pops," Georgie said, pulling the corners of Rick's mouth up just the slightest, which she considered a win. When she first gave him the nickname, he said it made him sound like an old man. She told him when he shaved the old man beard, she would stop. Even when he did, she kept it up. It was too late now.

"Morning," He said. "Michonne made breakfast."

Georgie sat down, fixing her plate with the off colored eggs and hashbrowns. "I've been thinking," She said.

"Okay."

"I should go to Hilltop," Georgie said.

"No," Rick said firmly. "Not a chance."

"I need to see Maggie," Georgie said. "With Denise gone, I have no one to show me how to deliver a baby and what if Dr. Carson isn't there when it happens? I don't want what happened to Lori to happen to her."

"With Denise gone, you're our only doctor," Rick argued.

"I'm a nineteen year old with subpar first aid training at best," Georgie said. "Rosita knows more than I do, so I know that's not your reason."

"It's not," Rick said. "We got ambushed on our way to Hilltop, it could happen again. He killed Abe and Glenn in front of us, just chose them at random. He tried to make me cut off my son's arm. He's sick, Georgie. We don't know what he would do to you."

"I'm not going to hide here while everyone is in danger," Georgie argued.

"He thinks Maggie's dead, that's what's keeping her safe," Rick said. "I'm not losing any more of my family, alright? You're staying right here."

Georgie held his gaze for a long moment, his eyes boring into her with such an intensity she thought he could see through her. She nodded. "Fine."

"Good," Rick said, turning back to his breakfast. Georgie chewed on hers, the bitterness in her mouth disguising the rubberiness of the eggs.

"Rick!" Michonne said, running down the stairs so fast she nearly tumbled. Rick and Georgie jumped out of their seats, Rick's hand already on his gun. "Where's Carl?"


	5. Chapter 5

When he was younger, Carl imagined the first time he drove a car would be with his father in the front seat, gripping onto the handle and pretending he wasn't terrified that Carl would crash into Mrs. Baker's novelty rooster mailbox. He didn't picture his first time behind the wheel to be in a car he hot wired, a skill he learned from watching Daryl. He didn't think his first road trip would be to avenge the death of his friends.

He also didn't imagine that the road trip would end with him forced by armed guard into the bedroom of a sadistic killer. But his life hadn't turned out how he had planned recently.

Negan forced him to sit down on the plush chair. He pulled off his leather jacket, sitting down on the couch in front of Carl, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees and a grin on his face. Carl looked at the tattoos on his arms, a sign of the world they used to live in. A heart below his elbow, the word "Bison" on his forearm, a peach just peeking out of the collar of his shirt, a cross on his shoulder. Negan was a person who had, before all this, cared enough about God to ink it onto his skin. Carl couldn't imagine the Negan now believing in any power higher than himself.

"I gotta say, kid," Negan said. "You got some huge, man sized balls. Coming here, trying to assassinate me all on your own like that. I don't normally take kindly to folks tryna kill me, but damn! You got some style." Carl gritted his teeth, not moving his eye away from Negan. He wouldn't give him the satisfaction of backing down. "What's under that eyepatch? Not an eye, I'm guessing."

"I got shot," Carl said.

"In the goddamn head? You are one tough son of a bitch," Negan laughed. "Take it off."

"What? No," Carl said, taken aback.

"Come on, kid," Negan said. "You killed two of my men out there and I let you live. You owe me."

Carl stared him down, but Negan didn't budge. Carl flexed his fingers, wanting to do something but he knew he couldn't. Negan took his gun and no amount of Daryl's fighting lessons would change the fact that Negan was twice his size.

Carl pulled his hat off and grabbed the bandage at the edge, slowly peeling it off of his face. He hadn't had the stomach to look at it himself. He just let Georgie change the bandage while she blocked his view from the mirror.

He felt the last bit of cloth peel away from the scarred flesh of his eye socket, making Negan laugh gleefully, clapping his large hands together. "Christ! That is disgusting," Negan said.

Carl looked down, his hair covering the injured half of his face, but that didn't stop Negan. "I can see the socket. No wonder you cover that shit up. That is gross as hell, have you seen that? Have you looked at it? Oh my lord!"

Carl cursed the tears that fell from his remaining eye. He didn't want to cry and he didn't even know why he did. More important things had happened, he wasn't concerned with how he looked, but something in him broke as Negan mocked his disfigured face.

"Damn," Negan sighed heavily. "Look, kid… I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-," Negan drifted off as Carl looked back up at him. Negan brushed his hand over his mouth, looking Carl over. "It's easy to forget you're a kid. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. You're tough, most kids in your shoes would be crying about missing the prom. You got shot in the damn face."

Carl stayed silent, looking back at Negan, trying to figure out the man who sat in front of him, who would brutally murder two people in front of him and laugh, but then apologize for hurting his feelings.

"My daughter," Negan said, pausing as if these two words were a punch to his gut. "She was always telling me I was too harsh on people. She was probably right, clearly."

"You have a daughter?"

"I don't talk about her much these days, not really anyone worth talking about her to anymore," Negan said. "She was a sweet girl. She'd cry her eyes out any time that Sarah McLachlan dog commercial would come on."

"My mom did too," Carl said.

"Your mom die?" Negan asked. Carl nodded. "Women like that are some of the best, but they don't last here. My wife was a tough lady. Hell, when I met her, she was kicking some ass in a mud wrestling contest in Georgia. I thought Lulu would be a badass. It was probably my fault, every time she'd turn on the waterworks, I'd come running and do whatever she needed me to do. I never let her fight her own battles."

Carl felt his heart stop as he realized what Negan had said. He had heard this story before, only from someone else's point of view. "Lulu?" He asked weakly. Negan smiled, catching himself in nostalgia.

"There's a reason my bat's called Lucille. My wife didn't want to name our girl after her, she thought that was tacky. I negotiated her down to a middle name, but my baby was always Lulu to me," He pulled the collar of his shirt down further, showing the tattoo of a peach that Carl had spotted earlier, though now he realized it also bore the name 'Lulu'. "Georgia Lucille. Prettiest damn thing you could ever see, my girl. Smart, too. Don't know where she got that from. She was gonna be a doctor."

Carl barely heard what Negan was saying anymore as he studied the man's face. How could Georgie, who patched up his wounds and made him dinner and fought alongside him, be a part of this man who murdered just for the hell of it. He felt sick to his stomach as he realized the chocolate brown eyes that he found comfort in many times over the last few years stared back at him now, only from the face of Glenn and Abraham's killer.

"She died. Right when all this shit hit the fan," Negan laughed again, but it held none of the cruel delight that it usually did. It was weighted in sadness. "She wanted to stay where she was, wait this thing out, but I told her to get on the plane and come home so I could take care of her like I always did. Turn on the news a few hours later, find out her plane crashed right into the Blue Ridge Mountains."

"I'm sorry," Carl said, surprised to find he actually meant it. Negan nodded.

"Me too," Negan said. "But like I said, she wouldn't have lasted in this world anyways, so maybe it's for the best."

"What if she did?" Carl asked. Negan looked taken aback. "If your daughter survived, do you think this would be different?"

Negan gave his forlorn laugh again. "I can guarantee if my girl was alive, we wouldn't be having this conversation, kid. After she died, I did what I had to. I do what I have to, to keep my people alive. But if Lulu were here? I can't really say what I'd do."

"I think I want to go back home," Carl said. Negan looked at him for a long moment.

"Sure, kid," He said. "Let's take you home."

 _The quiet bustle pulled Carl out of his deep sleep. He still felt groggy from the drugs and his body ached like nothing he had ever felt before, but as he felt the weight of his father's hat still on his head, he couldn't help but feel proud of himself._

" _Good morning," The girl who was placing his breakfast on his nightstand said. "You're looking like a million bucks, there, kid."_

" _Are you a doctor?" Carl asked. He remembered the other doctor vaguely, an old man with white hair and a gentle smile._

" _Not really," The girl said with a laugh. "But I was helping with your operation. Probably why it went so well, I'm lucky that way. I'm Georgie."_

" _I'm Carl."_

" _Nice to formally meet you, Carl," Georgie said. She leaned over his bed, placing her hand on his forehead like his mom did when he claimed he felt too sick to go to school. "You're definitely doing better than when you first got here."_

 _A silver chain fell out from her shirt as she checked him over, though she didn't seem to notice as the dog tags swung like a pendulum above Carl. He remembered seeing dog tags like that on the army guys who seemed to be on every corner when this all started._

" _Are you in the military?" Carl asked._

" _God, no," Georgie laughed, shoving the chain back under her shirt. "These are my dad's. He was in the service before I was born."_

" _He's the doctor, right?"_

" _That's Hershel, but no, he's not my dad," Georgie said. "Hershel took me in when everything was going bananas, I know his daughter from school."_

" _Where's your dad then?" Carl asked._

" _Last I knew, he was in Virginia. I'm hoping he's still there." Georgie smiled at him sadly. Carl knew how she felt. He touched the brim of his hat, remembering when Shane had told him that they had to pack up their car and leave and that his dad wouldn't be coming with._

" _I lost my dad too," Carl said. "But he found his way back."_

" _He seems resourceful like that," Georgie said._

" _He is," Carl said. "But maybe your dad can find his way back to you, too."_

 _Georgie flicked the brim of Carl's hat. "I hope he does."_

As the gates of Alexandria opened for them, Carl worried how well thought out his plan was. Considering he had put little to no thought to it, he figured not very.

"Damn, this is a mighty sweet set up y'all have got here," Negan said with a low whistle as they pulled through the gates. Carl's chest tensed as he saw his parents waiting for them in the dead center of main street. As he thought, Georgie was nowhere to be seen, probably shoved into hiding as soon as the guards announced the Saviors' truck had arrived.

"Can you wait here?" Carl asked as they pulled to a stop. Negan raised an eyebrow at him.

"Excuse the god damn hell out of me?" Negan asked.

"Or get out, whatever," Carl said. "But don't leave, I need to talk to my dad about something."

"Was it about the murder you committed earlier?" Negan asked. "Because I think we need to have a little PTA meeting about that ourselves."

"You can tell him whatever you'd like," Carl said. He was anxious to get out of the cab and find Georgie.

"Go ahead then," Negan said, gesturing to the door. Carl got out first and like he thought, Negan came out after him, but stayed at the side of the truck. "Just dropping off the boy, no need for distress."

"What were you doing with him?" Rick asked Negan as Carl came towards him. Michonne reached out, checking over his face as if he would have sustained a terminal bat wound to the head that had gone unnoticed at first glance somehow. He knew he would get an earful from her later.

"Hey, the little sociopath came to me," Negan defended.

"Dad," Carl said, pulling Rick's attention to him. "Where's Georgie?"

Rick's eyes flicked over to Negan and back to Carl. "In the house with Judith, why are you-,"

"She needs to see Negan," Carl said.

"Carl, no," Michonne said, her voice hushed. "We've kept her out of this."

"She can change his mind, I can't explain right now, but she can," Carl said before taking off down the street towards their house while his father shouted his name after him. Carl was surprised Rick didn't take off after him, but he was probably worried about leaving Negan unattended in Alexandria. Carl wanted to feel bad about leaving his father out of his plan, but he knew his father wouldn't understand unless Carl showed him.

He opened the front door, looking around the front room even though he knew he wouldn't find them so out in the open. "Georgie," Carl called. He heard footsteps upstairs and within seconds, Georgie appeared at the top.

"Carl, Jesus Christ," She said as she ran down, pulling him into a bone crushing hug. For someone so small, she had quite the grip when she was worried. "Where the hell were you?"

"You have to come out," Carl said in a rush. "Negan's here."

"According to Pops, that's exactly why I'm not supposed to come out," Georgie said, staring at him wide eyed as if he had gone crazy. "What's going on?"

"Come on," Carl said, pulling her by the hand outside. Georgie followed, if only because she was too confused to move on her own accord. They reached the gate where Negan and his Saviors still stood. Carl didn't take him as someone who followed orders, but his curiosity must have won out.

"Carl!" Rick yelled as he saw that his son had indeed pulled Georgie out of the safety of their home. "What the hell are you doing?"

Georgie started to explain she had no part in Carl's scheme when her eyes fell on Negan. She seemed almost entranced as she started towards him until Rick threw his arm out, stopping her from going any further. He looked at her as if she had gone just as crazy as Carl. Negan stood frozen by the truck, his normally cocky grin dropping from his face as he looked over the woman Carl had brought out.

"Lulu," Negan said finally as he took a breath, one he had been holding since the phone line cut off. "You're here."

"Daddy," Georgie said. She tried to move past Rick, but he held his arm still as he looked back and forth between Georgie and Negan, seemingly reaching the same conclusion Carl had, though with different results.

"Take your hand off my goddamn daughter," Negan said, stepping forward, Lucille raised. Georgie took note of the bat, her face falling as she also noticed the Saviors behind her father.

She shoved Rick's arm down, pulling the knife she kept on her belt out, holding it in a frighteningly steady hand. The sight of his little girl, the one who had to sleep in his bed if she even thought she saw a spider in her room, wielding a knife, ready to kill, was enough to stop him in his tracks.

"Lulu, it's not-,"

"Don't call me that, you fucking psychopath," Georgie said. "You're a killer. You killed my family."

"I'm your dad, it's still me," Negan said weakly.

"No," Georgie spat back at him. "My dad died a long time ago. You're Negan."


	6. Chapter 6

The slam of the door upstairs rang through the whole house. Rick had never seen Georgie angry before. Annoyed at the lack of privacy in their close quarters or sad at the loss of one of their group, but this silent, fuming anger was something completely foreign to him. Rick turned to his son as he stood in the living room.

"What the hell was that?" Rick asked, his voice was hushed but his tone was as strong as if he had yelled. "Why didn't you tell us?"

"Rick," Michonne warned, her hand gently on his arm. Rick shook it off.

"I told you, I didn't have time to explain," Carl said.

"So you just drop that on her like that? On us?" Rick said. "We don't know what he'll do now."

"He left," Carl said. "He didn't kill anyone, he just left."

"He said he'd be back for our supplies, this didn't help," Rick said.

"She's been looking for her father since this all started and he's right there," Carl said. "I had to tell her, she deserved to know."

"You could have told us first, Carl," Michonne said.

"You didn't think," Rick said. "You didn't think this through. He's dangerous, we don't know what he'll do."

"She's his daughter, he doesn't want to hurt her," Carl argued.

"You don't know that, we've seen what kind of person he is," Rick said. "We don't know that he won't kill her. Or take her by force."

"He won't."

"You don't know."

"I do. He's only the way he is because he lost his kid, and now he has her again. What would you have done if you lost me?" Rick stared at Carl, their faces nearly level. Rick had noticed that his son had almost reached him in height in the last couple years, but it seemed so glaringly obvious now as they argued. "If you thought you were the reason I died? You'd never forgive yourself."

"I wouldn't kill people," Rick argued.

"You have killed people," Carl threw back. "I've seen you do it before."

Rick held his jaw tight. He had felt guilty enough about exposing Carl to the evils of this world, but to hear it from his son, to know that it had affected him in the way that Rick feared it had, made it all the worse. Carl held his father's gaze.

"I'm not saying Negan is a good guy," Carl said. "But maybe he could be."

 _After nearly a year with a gun strapped to his side, Rick felt naked without it, but also more free than he had in a long while. He hammered in another plank of what would soon be a pig pen. Many of the new comers at the prison had offered assistance in structuring their new home, but Rick had assigned them to cleaning up the cell blocks or building more walls inside. The pig pen was more of a distraction for himself that he hoped might take a while._

" _How's it going, Pops?" Georgie asked, stepping over the planks of wood carefully._

" _It's going," Rick said, standing up fully and stretching. "What are you doing out here? Thought you had some homework to do."_

" _Surprisingly, it doesn't take that long to learn how to amputate a limb," Georgie said. "You just tie and swing."_

" _We're in good hands," Rick laughed._

" _I actually gotta ask you something," Georgie said. "You remember at the farmhouse, when you and Shane were planning on taking everyone to Fort Benning?"_

 _Rick swallowed hard. He knew what she was talking about but he remembered the events a bit differently. He had a feeling he knew what Georgie was going to ask. "That was before we had a safe place here, right where we are."_

" _And that's great, for Carl and Judith. They'll have a nice place to grow up," Georgie said. "But when Fort Benning was still the plan, y'all said you'd take me as far north as you could."_

" _Georgie, I know what we agreed, but things have changed. There are walls here, we have a home. I can't take you."_

" _I'm not asking you to take me anywhere," Georgie said. "I talked it over with Daryl. He said as long as you said yes, he and Michonne would take me north."_

 _Rick looked up to the gated courtyard, finding Daryl holding Judith while subtly watching over Rick and Georgie's conversation. He knew Daryl wasn't one to give orders, even if he wanted to tell the girl no as well._

" _I know what you're going to say," Georgie said. "But they wouldn't be taking me all the way. Just as far north as their search takes them and then we'd just find me a working vehicle and I'd go from there."_

" _You want to go to Virginia by yourself?"_

" _I'm sure I'd find someone on the way."_

" _You don't even know where your father is," Rick said. "If he's even still alive-,"_

" _I know he's still alive," Georgie corrected. "Me asking is just a courtesy. I don't need Daryl to take me, I can go by myself from the get go. I need to find my dad."_

 _Rick stood with his hands on his hips, looking down on the girl. When they had met, she was throwing up on the side of the farmhouse after helping Hershel clean Carl's gunshot wound. Now, she stood firmly in front of him, blood on her flannel shirt from her lessons and she didn't even seem to notice. She had his back in more than a handful of sticky situations, taking out her share of walkers. He had no doubt that she could handle herself on her own, but he wasn't sure he wanted her to._

" _You're safe here," Rick said._

" _What if it was Carl?" Georgie asked._

" _I don't need to imagine it's Carl, Georgie," Rick said. "You're part of this family too. I know I'd rather have you safe here, even if it's not with me than out there alone on the road looking for me. And I know your dad would agree."_

The gates opened for the Saviors, the setting sun casting the van in an appropriately menacing red glow. Georgie stood beside Michonne, both of them hanging behind Rick, having come out as soon as the guards alerted them.

Once, in high school, Georgie had snuck out and been caught by the sheriff with her shirt off in the backseat of some boy from history class's Dodge Charger. Sitting in the police station afterwards was the only time in her life she had genuinely feared seeing her father until now. Back then, all she was afraid of was him grounding her until she turned eighteen. The father she had known had never mercilessly bludgeoned someone to death, no matter what he had said to the boy from her history class. She knew her father better than anyone else in her life, but she had no idea what Negan was capable of.

"Why don't they have the big truck?" Michonne asked from the corner of her mouth, her eyes not moving from Negan.

"He said he'd be back for his shit," Georgie said. Michonne's gaze flicked to Georgie for the briefest moment. Michonne tensed up, moving slightly in front of Georgie, clearly having the same worry Georgie had: Negan hadn't meant supplies.

The van pulled to a stop a few yards ahead of them but no one made a move. Finally, Negan exited from the passenger seat. He didn't have his bat or even a gun at his side as he moved to the front of the van.

"Georgia, come on up here," Negan said, waving her forward. She could count on one hand all the times her father had called her by only her first name in her life. She looked up at Rick.

"You can go," Rick nodded.

Negan laughed but it held no humor. "You asking him for permission?"

Georgie stepped up passed Rick and Michonne but still didn't get within arms reach of Negan. "He's done right by me so far."

Negan ducked his head, making a face as if Georgie had turned the knife that was embedded in his back. "I've tried to do right by you."

"Save it, I'm not having this conversation with you," Georgie said. Before, Georgie handled her fear much like she handled anything else in her life: crying and asking her father for help. Now, she stood her ground, her fear bubbling into anger with each moment she stared at the man who wore her father's face but felt like a stranger.

Negan's jaw hardened as he looked up at her. "I know what you think of me right now, but you don't know everything, sweetheart."

"I know what I need to," Georgie said. "Why are you here?"

"Said I'd be back."

"We don't have any more supplies for you right now," Rick said. "If you give us a few more days-,"

"I don't need my shit," Negan said, his tone turning angry in a snap as he looked at Rick. "I'm here to give you something." His gaze shifted back to Georgie.

"I don't need anything from you," Georgie said, her arms crossed.

"You're gonna want this," Negan said. He motioned to the big man sitting in the passenger seat of the van. He got out, going to open the doors of the back. Georgie's snarky comment caught in her throat as the man half dragged, half carried a crumpled figure out to the front of the van.

Georgie rushed forward, taking Daryl into her arms. He grumbled something about it not being as bad as it looked as she let him slowly sink to the ground with her. She held him to her, checking over the archer's swollen features. He had only been in Negan's captivity for three days, but he looked much more worse for ware. Georgie looked up at Negan in disgust.

"A gesture of good will," He said, looking down at her.

"Good will, my ass."

"I didn't have to release him."

"You didn't have to take him prisoner either," Georgie said. "I've seen roadkill look better. What did you do to him?"

"He killed my men," Negan said. "I can't just let that slide. I'm doing this for you, Georgia."

"Excuse me if I don't exactly fall over myself with gratitude," Georgie said. Negan towered over her as she sat on the ground with Daryl's head weakly on her shoulder, but Georgie's anger radiated the power of someone three times her size. "Thank you for beating and starving my friend. Is that what you want me to say?" Negan stared back at her, looking as if he had something he wanted to say but he gritted his teeth against it. "Those men you killed? They were my friends, my family. I'd be dead without them. Without Rick and Michonne. They've taken care of me this whole time. You threaten them, you threaten me."

Almost as if she hadn't said anything at all, Negan turned on Rick. "You tell her this?"

"He didn't tell me anything," Georgie protested.

"She joined us, we look out for our own," Rick said.

"I don't need you taking care of my girl," Negan said. "Turning her against me."

"You're the only one turning me against you, Negan," Georgie said.

"Don't call me that," Negan snapped. The name he chose for himself, the one that gave him all the power he had now, sounded perverse coming from his daughter's mouth.

"You don't get both," Georgie said. "And you already chose. Now go. Come back for your shit next week, like you planned. We'll have it."

Negan wanted to argue more. He wanted to tell her how broken he was when that news report showed her plane, the plane he told her to get on, crashed, leaving no survivors. He wanted to tell her how he had a gun in his mouth until he heard a cry for help. He wanted to tell her how when that survivor asked his name, he couldn't even bring himself to say the words "John Campbell", he wanted to tell her he just pulled the name from a nearby street sign just so he could be someone who didn't want to die, someone who could take care of people, someone who didn't let his own daughter die.

Instead, he left.


End file.
